Key Takeaway
Conway v Elite Towing case explains CPLR 3101(d) expert disclosure requirements for personal injury litigation, including sufficient detail standards and IME report exceptions.
Conway v Elite Towing & Flatbedding Corp. 2016 NY Slip Op 00470 (2d Dept. 2016)
Generally in personal injury and no-fault litigation, the report of the exert is annexed to the 3101(d) disclosure, and this is sufficient. Parenthetically, this is usually an IME report that the uniform rules require be exchanged.
Yet, a statement from the attorney as to the substance of the facts and opinions is sufficient should an expert who did not prepare an IME be called. The Court said the following:
“The defendants’ expert disclosure statements sufficiently disclosed in reasonable detail the subject matter and the substance of the facts and opinions on which the experts were expected to testify, and a summary of the grounds for their opinions (see CPLR 3101; Mary Imogene Bassett Hosp. v Cannon Design, Inc., 97 AD3d 1030, 1032; Cocca v Conway, 283 AD2d 787, 788; see also Hoberg v Shree Granesh, LLC, 85 AD3d 965; Gagliardotto v Huntington Hosp., 25 AD3d 758, 759). Contrary to the plaintiff’s contention, there is no requirement that the expert set forth the specific facts and opinions upon which he or she is expected to testify, but rather only the substance of those facts and opinions”
